‘Is torture ever justifiable?’ Debate at Otago University

‘Is torture ever justifiable?’ Debate by the
Otago University Debating Society with guest speaker
Professor Richard Jackson from the National Centre for Peace
& Conflicts Studies. Hosted by Amnesty International Otago
University & Polytechnic

We encourage you to join
us in discussing the use of torture. This debate between
students of the Otago University Debating Society is part of
Amnesty International’s Freedom Challenge Week, an annual
campaign week by youth groups. This year the topic is
torture.

Between January 2009 and May 2013, Amnesty
Interntional received reports of torture and other
illtreatment committed by state officials in 141 countries
and from every world region. New Zealand’s neighbours in
the Asia-Pacfic region are some of the worst offenders,
where governments are allowing police and state security
forces to torture with impunity.

“As more governments
seek to justify torture in the name of national security,
the steady progress made in this field over the last 30
years is being eroded” – Grant Bayldon, Executive
Director of Amnesty International NZ.

The debate will
hopefully stimulate reflection and encourage research, with
a better understanding of the various considerations that
undermine basic assumptions.

The debate will present both
sides of the argument, in the context of the comeback of
torture by governments, and a prevalent attitude that some
methods of torture are more acceptable than others.

“We
wish to make people aware that this is not only an issue for
non-democratic countries, but that democratic nations are
also involved in the maintance of a global culture of
torture-behind-the-scenes, under the banner of national
security, via implicit consent that is based on assumptions
that some forms of torture can work and are needed.” Ray
Nukada, co-organiser, Amnesty International Otago. Professor
Richard Jackson from the University of Otago’s National
Centre for Peace & Conflicts Studies will introduce the
debate and also speak afterwards.

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